Run
by Lady of Weirdness
Summary: AU This revealed a silent truth that he and his growing love for her had denied for so long: his cold, automated body will never warm her the way a regular human would.“Why won’t you run?” “I can’t!” He screamed. “Why?” “Because,” He paused, “I love her.”
1. Prologue: X0639

I said I would wait, but, hey, I needed this story to be posted or else I'll lose it (in my mind). Like posted on my authoress page, this was inspired by the need to do a creative writing story for a semester class I had. I did write the paper (thank god!) but I still wanted to use this idea for a while now. (smile) Anyway, the title is in dedication to my viewing of a Snow Patrol Concert. One of the songs they played was entitled "Run". Great song, but the lyrics didn't fit entirely capture the essence of the story. Though, I must admit, the title did. So, off you go.

Dedication to my new found major.

Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters nor the series. They belong to their respective owners. There's a reason as to why the keyword is "fan".**

* * *

Prologue: _X0639_

* * *

The smell of sweat, melted metal and wires, and coffee slowly engulf the air. One scientist lowered the blow touch from the liquidated metal. He looked at the framing with a small smirk of satisfaction on his face. '_This is it_,' he silently congratulated himself as he removed the safety eyewear. He placed the plastic covering over his forehead and cushioned it on his head with his dark jet black hair. Cocking his head down a couple degrees south, the scientist's eyes examined. There were obviously weapons of mass destruction to help serve the purpose of the machine. It was crafted and designed to look like a human. Shaped as a skeleton, he looked at the frame carefully. It was very humanlike indeed. His fingers traced the new carvings he had just made not to long ago: X0639

"It's missing something though," He said to no one in particular.

"_Try actually making it human, Keisuke_."

The scientist known as Keisuke turn to see his American colleague and fellow creator, Christopher. Christopher looked like he woke up from his usual four hour nap. He seemed a little more energized regarding that response he gave. Maybe it was from the cup of coffee he had on his left hand. Whatever it was, it was keeping him up at 3 o'clock in the morning.

Walking to his co-creator, Christopher looked at the model that Keisuke had been working on. Christopher ran through his brown hair then fixed his glasses with his free hand. "You should try making this fella a little more human. After all, he will be carrying out orders from a bunch of fat ass rich bastards. We need to make it up to him." He chuckled taking a sip of the coffee.

Keisuke sighed placing the blow torch and goggles aside. "I was going to make him humanlike. They requested him to be."

Christopher looked over his shoulder to see Keisuke's back to him. The sound of his response was somewhat melancholy. "You have an objection to that?"

"Course I do," Keisuke exclaimed turning at his heel. With a fist clenched, Keisuke made a very mad expression. Christopher couldn't help but yelp a bit from his sudden response. Seeing his colleague's facial expression, Keisuke lowered his fist and softened his face. "Gomen ne. I didn't mean that." He walked towards the opposite side of the table where Christopher stood.

"Christopher, do you know the three laws of robotics (1)?" Christopher chuckled. Keisuke raised a brow, questioning as to why his colleague found the question funny. "Well, do you?"

"I'm aware of it." Christopher finally spoke wiping his eyes from the tears. "I did not know that you believed in them. They were written for science fiction writers."

"True," He sighed once more, "but we should uphold it."

"What do you mean?"

"The first law: Robots must not harm humans."

"Then what's the point of building this?"

"I don't know." Keisuke added. "We could have denied the job, right?"

"I'll give you one clue as to why we couldn't: funding." Christopher sighed placing his now empty cup on the table closest to him. "But like I said, we have to give him something. You know, to make up for the reason why he has to kill—"

"**Keisuke-san! Christopher-san!**"

The two turn to their source of their name. A young intern (obviously out of college) approached them with heavy breathing. "There was a call from the Loden Corporation." He managed to say through his heavy breathing.

"Loden?" Keisuke questioned.

"That's the corporate group that wants the machine." Christopher glared at the very thought of their board. "What do they want, Koushiro?"

The small red head gained his strength to speak more properly to his superiors. "The company called to say that…" He paused to fully catch his breath, "they need the model done by the end of the week."

"Na-nani?!" Keisuke gasped. "The end of the week?"

"We cannot finish this by the end of the week! X0639 doesn't even have his skin yet!"

"I know," Koushiro raised his hands to calm his superiors down. "I know."

"You're lucky you're one bright kid, Koushiro, otherwise you'd be outta here." Christopher groaned. He walked in circles. How the hell is he supposed to get the model down by the end of the week? And shipped out no less. "Any bright ideas, Keisuke?"

Keisuke fell silent. Thinking of the matter had become more difficult than it had originally been. It took him nearly two months to create a frame that would hold and conceal these weapons in an average man's body. It would have taken him at least another month to add the humanlike features like the skin and hair. Why was being the head of this project so hard?

"Ano…" Koushiro shyly spoke out. "I have an idea…that might save our asses."

* * *

"Is this really the only way to do it?" Christopher asked looking at the young man's body in front of him. "I mean…he's still just a kid."

"He is really brave. Well…he _was_ at least." Koushiro commented. "We grew up together. He was really skilled and a really good friend. He was at the Tatsuya Agency—"

"—you mean that security agency known for its talented agents?" Christopher interrupted.

"Un," Koushiro nodded. "He was one of their bests."

"So what happened to him?" Christopher interrogated once more.

"He had gotten into an accident which caused severe internal bleeding. There was no way they could save him. The sad part is he could have done a lot more if he was alive. After all, he did die young. Keisuke-san, he is a really good friend of mind. I have to make it up to him by giving him another chance to live."

"But will you be willing to part with your friend to a mongrel that is probably going to abuse the kid?" Keisuke asked. Koushiro fell silent. Keisuke sighed as he picked up his instrument. "I know you want to save your friend, Koushiro. As much as I want your friend to live another happy health life, we have no choice in the matter."

Koushiro nodded quietly.

With that said, Keisuke took the instrument and pierced on the model's skin on the arm closest to him. Since he was dead, no blood erupted from his skin. He made a rectangular figure on the skin, lifted the skin, and looked solemnly at the bones already located within. Keisuke closed his eyes as he took out the saw which would cut the solid calcium.

* * *

Days passed. Hours passed. The three looked back at their finished work: X0639. Strapped in, X0639 looked human. His skin was a mild tan. His muscles were well toned like had been before. His blonde hair was unshaped and limp. It framed his face which looked like he was peacefully asleep.

Koushiro especially looked solemnly at his friend. To be strapped in front of others like psychiatrists examining a mad man, how degrading. Then to be shipped to a corporation that is probably going to treat him like utter shit…what kind of friend is he? Keisuke glanced at Koushiro. Noticing his expression, Keisuke added, "He has some of his memories."

Koushiro and Christopher looked at Keisuke with a confused look.

"He will have some of his personality and memories. But not much of it could be retrieved. He cannot have most of them anyway. He will be working for them like an android." He paused, then continued with a small smile, "but at least he'd be doing it in style."

Trying to avoid any more remorse, Christopher exclaimed, "Maa… we have to put him into that box now." He pulled X0639 from his place and tried to fold him in as best as he could. He and Koushiro picked up the box and moved to the exit of the room.

As Keisuke took the liberty of cleaning up, there was a knock on the door. The three looked at each other. "Are you expecting anyone?" Christopher asked still holding the box in his hands.

Keisuke shook his head. They turned to the young intern who also shook his little red head. Keisuke placed the tools on the table and walked towards the door. He turned the knob. Outside the door was like a small platoon of suited men. With a raised brow, Keisuke questioned, "May I help you?"

"You are Keisuke of the head of project X0639, am I correct?" The one in front asked.

"That does not answer my question." Keisuke countered with his brows slowly creeping down to his eyes.

"You need to forfeit the project to us now. Loden Corporation gave you enough time." The leader grabbed Keisuke's arm by force and kept it in a tight grip. "Take the project, kill the scientists if necessary." He yelled.

"Ah?" Koushiro gaped hearing the words.

Keisuke needed to do something. He was being pushed back into the lab as the suited men came flooding after he had been pushed. Keisuke saw the worried glances of Koushiro and Christopher. Damn, something needs to be done. Looking to his side, Keisuke saw a box labeled with marker written letters C, O, a subscripted 2, and the world solid within parenthesis.

'_Dry ice?_' Keisuke questioned. An idea clicked when he saw a still-lit Bunsen burner. With a quick grab of his captor's arm and pulling it down, the ring leader's body fell along with his arm due to the tight grip. Thanks to quick reflexes, Keisuke was able to bring a quick jab to his face causing the grip of his arm to be released. Keisuke ran to the box and threw it in the direction of the Bunsen burner.

"What the fuck is that man doing? Doesn't he know that he's throwing dry ice to a flame?" Christopher growled.

"With sudden temperatures of a Bunsen burner and dry ice that big will…(2)" Koushiro trailed off realizing what is to come.

"Ah, shit." Chrisotpher groaned louder as he and Koushiro got down.

**BANG!**

* * *

The three scientists were able to get out of the building as quick as they could. They plopped onto the ground with the box in their possession.

"That was close," Koushiro breathed.

"God this thing is heavy!" Christopher yelled.

"The fight isn't over," Keisuke commented. He looked at Koushiro. He lowered his gaze to his hands with a crumbled piece of paper. "Koushiro, I know what I am about to ask you is very hard to understand, let alone grasp, but I think you should get out of here with X0639."

"Nani?!" Koushiro gasped. He turned to Christopher who also nodded with a smile. "De-demo…why me?"

"Loden only has records on us." Christopher explained. "It'll be easier for them to track us down and kill us than you."

"Because I'm an intern?"

"Not entirely. You see, all this time you were working with us, Loden did not know. Originally, it was supposed to be only me and Christopher. As the time grew near, we decided to find an intern that would take care of the project if anything were to happen. You served as a back up plan for us."

"Demo… where can I go? Obviously I cannot go back home with this thing in my arms." Koushiro exclaimed.

"Go here," Keisuke handed Koushiro an address written on a crumbled piece of paper. "This is my daughter's apartment. She will be able to help you. She will take it well."

"Demo—"

"You don't have time, Koushiro." Christopher picked up the box as Keisuke pushed Koushiro's body towards the parking lot where Koushiro's car as located. Keisuke pulled Koushiro's lab coat and threw the id into the car. "You need to get to her house before those assholes actually get back up." Keisuke pushed Koushiro into the driver and closed the door as Keisuke placed the box in the back seat.

"What about you guys?" Koushiro questioned putting the window down as he started the car.

"Don't worry about us. Save yourself and X0639." Christopher smiled.

Koushiro nodded. "Oh yeah, guys?" The two looked at Koushiro before he made a small smirk. "X0639's real name was Yamato." With that said, he pressed the acceleration pedal and went his way.

The two smiled at Koushiro waving him goodbye. When Koushiro's car was out of their sight, Keisuke sighed while Christopher placed one hand on his hip while the other ran through his hair. "He's a good kid." Christopher commented.

"Too bad you will never see him ever again." The sounds of two click gun shots echoed.

* * *

The engine stopped. Koushiro looked at the apartment building of Keisuke's daughter. It was huge and looked like it was made for the lap of luxury. He hauled the big box into the building. When he passed the lobby of the building, thankfully no one was there. He went to the elevator and looked at the address. "Apt. 710, eh? Seventh floor then." He pressed the button and heard the ding.

When he reached the floor, Koushiro went his way to look for room ten. "Ten…ten…ten…" he muttered to himself.

In big white numbers, the number 710 was displayed. On the bottom was the surname of the tenant. "That's Keisuke's family name alright." Like a nervous first date, Koushiro's hand shook before he could press the rectangular button. After all, it was two o'clock in the morning. How would anyone feel about taking guard of an android that had the potential to destroy the world?

He glanced at the box next to him. Through a small crack, Koushiro saw Yamato's lying face still peacefully sound asleep. Koushiro owed it to his friend to do this for him. He took a deep breath and pressed the damned button. A dinged melody came into play. After no answer, Koushiro sighed out of relief.

But this relief ran quick. "_I'm coming…_"

Oh crap! Koushiro's thoughts began to swirl. What the fuck was he supposed to do? Walk up to her and say, "Hi. I worked with your father who now is possibly dead due to this android that is now in your protective hands."? He placed the box in front of the door, then ran to hid in the corner.

The door opened. A girl around his age came through the door. With her long chestnut hair and light honey brown eyes, she looked around for the cause of her sudden bell. When the carton touched her feet, she looked down. "What is this?" She asked earnestly. Looking around, she pushed the box through the door.

Thankfully, her door was still open. Koushiro peeped through to see her actions. The girl flipped the flaps of the box. The sudden response that came from her was expected.

"What the hell? Why is there a man in this box?!"

This was Koushiro's cute to come in. "Sumimasen (3)." He politely revealed himself as the girl faced him. Koushiro flushed a bit. Maybe it was the fact that the girl was cute or the fact that she was wearing short shorts that revealed her shapely legs. Either way, there was no sense in hiding it. "You are Tachikawa Keisuke's daughter, Mimi, ne?"

The girl known as Mimi nodded looking at Koushiro walked in front of the box. "My name is Izumi Koushiro. I worked with your father in the plant in Tokyo. What you just saw was our project."

"Project?"

"Yes, our project X0639."

Quietly, the air pressures were released. Whirling sounds of machinery began to move. The project known as X0639 opened his eyes. He stood from his boxed home. He looked at the surroundings. Then suddenly his eyes locked at Mimi whose face he saw first. Mimi stood still. The boxed man's deep blue eyes looked lonely and lost with a hint of sincerity. Regardless, Mimi couldn't help but stare at him.

"And so…" Koushiro paused after he explained the situation. "To sum it up: Hi. I worked with your father who now is possibly killed due to this android that is now in your protective hands." Koushiro made an attempt to smile to lighten the mood.

Mimi's mouth gaped wide open, but the source wasn't because of him. Koushiro turned to see that his friend Yamato, also known as X0639, had woken up. Koushiro turned back to Mimi. "He probably woke up when I said his name, Project X0639."

Mimi stood a few seconds. Drabbling, she tried to make a full sentence, "He…you… they… it…he's...he's...box?" Mimi fainted momentarily. Koushiro stared at the fallen beauty. X0639 looked at the fallen damsel. However, due to this confusion, he remained in the box.

"Take it well, huh?" Koushiro sighed sarcastically. He turned to close the door behind them before any other characters flow into the scene. He placed his hands on his sides. "Now what made her faint…?"

Looking at X0639, Koushiro mentally slapped himself. He mumbled, "Of course we remember the box and the address." He cursed to himself when he realized they had forgotten to dress him up first. He might have to explain everything when she wakes up.

* * *

(1) Okay, these laws are actually real. All sci-fi related things of robotics should revolve on these three laws. It's like that story of I, Robot. Look it up if necessary.  
(2) Using my scientific background, Carbon Dioxide as a solid is known as dry ice. What makes dry ice so dangerous is the fact that when it dissolves, the solid becomes the gas carbon dioxide which can kill if there were enough intakes. Also, because it doesn't dissolve through melting, if sudden flame-like temperatures get in contact... well… you'll know.  
(3) Excuse me.

Haha, Mimi saw nakkie. Anyway, this is the prologue. I'm satisfied with it. I'm keeping it. The rest of the story will be posted…eventually. If enough people like it. The story will be written in Mimi's point of view. However, just for the prologue, it'll be written in Koushiro's point of view. The main coupling will be Mimato, possibly Koumi. Main question: delete or continue?


	2. Chapter 1: Responsibility

Chapter 1: _Responsibility_

* * *

Mimi closed the front door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she lifted herself from the door and proceeded to go to her kitchen. Orange juice, her instincts told her. She opened her fridge. Looking for the familiar object, her light eyes roamed around the area. She smiled when her hands came on contact with the container. Grabbing a glass, she poured herself a small drink to satisfy her quench. The number of the clock caught her attention. It blinked 01:43 in bright crimson digital numbers.

Mimi sighed. "I should really learn to go home early."

She walked towards her room. Opening the room and sliding the light switch to on. The bright fluorescent light flashed. Her room served to be simple. The color theme was a simple mixture of beige and pink. She smiled seeing that her things had not been touched. She placed her jacket and her purse on the bed and made a deep inhale.

'_A bath would be nice…_' She moved her closet and took out her bathrobe.

Mimi moved to the bathroom and started the bath. Once it was ready, she discarded her clothes and soaked herself into the tub of warm rice water. The warmth engulfed her. The aroma of warm water and relaxation lulled her. Her eyes drifted to sleep.

The bell suddenly rang. Mimi's eyes opened. The door bell?

She got up from the tub and drained the water. Mimi took her robe and wrapped herself. She ran onto the hall and called, "I'm coming…"

She ran into her room and took out her pajamas. Pulling the shirt over her face and shorts up her legs, Mimi ran into the living room and directly to the door. She looked through the peep hole. No one was there. Her brows furrowed. She opened the door to take a further look. Before she could ask if anyone was around, her foot felt cardboard. Mimi's eyes traveled down to the box. "What is this?"

Well, it was left at the door step. Maybe it was for her? For some reason this logic seemed right. She tried to bring the box in by pulling. It was too heavy for some strange odd reason. She ended up turning to the opposite side of the box and pushing it inside.

Due to her excitement of the box, she had forgotten to close the door. Looking around the box, she tried to find some kind of hint as to what to do. To open the box or not, that was the question of the moment. Hey, curiosity is what got Pandora in trouble (1).

Screw it.

Was this a present from daddy? Was it? Was it? Mimi forced the flaps to open. So much for a cute little puppy… Mimi's eyes opened wide. She exclaimed loudly, "What the hell? Why is there a man in this box?!"

"_Sumimasen._"

Mimi turned around to see a red head at her door. He was dressed in a formal dress pants and a dull orange and burgundy stripped shirt. His dark black eyes seemed helpless and remorseful. Mimi noticed the tint in his face. The way he reacted was adorable, but at the moment, she wasn't amused. There was a boxed man in her living room. He continued, "You are Tachikawa Satoshi's daughter, Mimi, ne?"

Mimi could help but nod. As Koushiro approached her, she moved back to allow him to walk into the room. "My name is Izumi Koushiro." He started. "I worked with your father in the plant in Tokyo. What you just saw was our project."

There is a reason why Mimi did not follow her father. She did not want to be part of his crazy project ideas. Yet, she had to ask, "Project?"

"Yes, our project: X0639."

A few minutes into her stranger's, Koushiro, speech or explanation, the body within the box started to move. Mimi's eyes widen with one phrase repeated over and over again: _what have I been drinking?_

A body of a well toned man emerged from the box. The man looked very confused. He examined his surroundings. Once his eyes rested on Mimi, she felt her breath stop. By looking at him, she didn't have to think twice about throwing the two nut jobs out of the apartment. Once his eyes engulfed her, she lost all feeling. '_It is too strange to describe_', she thought. She knew that it was not possible to throw him out. The confused eyes, they are what kept her form doing so.

Her eyes traveled. That's when she realized something a missed. Her previous phrase had now been changed to: _why do I have a naked man in my apartment?_

"…in your protective hands." Koushiro turned to see that X0639 was awake. "He probably woke up when I said his name: Project X0639."

Mimi made an attempt to make a complete sentence, but seeing the naked man had distracted her deeply. "He…"

'…_is naked in my living room. And I don't understand how…_'

"…you…"

'…_have to be here to explain this. Why did…_'

"…they…"

'…_as in my father and company, decide to give **me** this? I-I mean, he…_'

"…it…"

'…_is not wearing any clothes. And-and…_'

"…he's…he's…"

'…_still naked and was wrapped in a…_'

"…box?" The fact that X0639 was naked had taken a great toll on the poor girl. She had been present in sex education. However, the fact that the man just wakes up and gets up in his birthday suit was not appealing. Rather, it was extremely distracting.

That's when the lights grew dark. Her body feel. She heard a sigh released.

* * *

Mimi moaned as the light began to brighten her eyes again. She slowly lifted them. The mixed colors reminded her of her room. She must be in her bed. Before she could stretch her arms, Mimi's eyes opened to see the blonde man staring at her again. She yelped taking the covers and making an attempt to cover herself. "What…what are you doing here?!"

The blonde was already seated on the side of her bed. He cocked his head to the side as if he was trying to understand the girl's speech.

Once again, it's the clueless blue eyes that made her weak. She needed to talk to him; maybe yelling was not the answer, "Why are you here?"

"…me…here?" The man's voice whispered sounding dazed and lost at the speech.

On cue, Koushiro came into the room. He noticed that sleeping beauty was finally awake. He walked up to Mimi with his hands in his pockets. "How are you feeling?"

"Deeply confused," Mimi retorted with a bit of attitude, "What the hell is going on?"

"I knew you weren't listening…" Koushiro sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, my father, company, blah, blah…" Mimi groaned holding her forehead and made an attempt to massage it. "Just…can you give me a summed up cliff note version?"

Koushiro sighed. He said with small hand gestures, "In Layman's terms: Scientists made android. Android was made to destroy. Possibly bad guys killed scientists to have the android. Bad guys want android now. Android is now in our hands to keep it and the world safe. The End."

Mimi stared at Koushiro like he had just made the worst short story in the world. Sarcastically, Mimi scoffed, "You are going to be one great daddy one day. I mean... your stories, whew!"

"Funny, real funny." Koushiro snorted. He went back into the living room to remove something from the box. That brat? Cute? What the hell was he thinking about earlier? He walked back into Mimi's bedroom to see Mimi and Yamato staring at each other like baffled idiots.

"Can you please tell your friend to get out of my face?" Mimi asked trying to avoid losing the staring contest.

"Ya-I mean…X0639, please move away from Keisuke-san's daughter." Koushiro commanded while looking at the manual at his hands.

"…hey, genius, your friend here is not moving."

Koushiro's attention diverted to Yamato who was still staring at his creator's daughter. "X0639? Yamato?" Koushiro walked up to the two. "Can you please move away from her?"

"She asked…" Yamato paused. Mimi and Koushiro stared at Yamato as he made an attempt to complete his sentence. "…why am I here. I cannot answer the question if I do know know."

"I'm starting to have space issues." Mimi snorted.

Koushiro looked at the manual. Flipping through pages, he came across the potential answer to their problems… at least one of them. "Tachikawa-san…read this."

Mimi took hold of the small book. Looked for her purse. Her eyes rested on the clothed object on her night stand. She took her reading glasses from her purse and made it rest on the bridge of her nose. She examined the words what red head was trying to point out. The simple phrase made it all make sense.

_**The first eye contact of the android X000 series will be its permanent master.**_

Mimi's brow rose. She laughed a bit. "This is a typo, right? I mean…I cannot even keep a goldfish alive for a few weeks."

Koushiro shrugged. "Apparently, you are X0639's master."

Mimi could not believe what she was hearing. She had not talked to her father since he told her that he was hired to work in a plant in Tokyo. That was—_what?_—two months ago? And suddenly _this_ lands on her lap? And he expects her to take care of it? Are you fucking kidding me?

"Is it too late to deny all this?" Mimi asked seriously. "I-I have school…friends…" She attempted to lay out all the reasons. Koushiro looked at her with his disappointed eyes. He walked towards the door, opened it, and then closed it without a word. The click of the door knob was the only response he left behind.

Mimi puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms. "Well that was rude of him," Mimi commented. She turned and asked no one is particular, "What is his problem?"

X0639 spoke, "Izumi-san said that you were the only person he could turn to." Mimi's attention was caught by the cyborg. He continued as if he was trying to remember the explanation. "He…he knows that it will be hard for you to understand. However, this was something he could just ignore. Izumi-san owes a lot…to your father. I also…"

X0639's voice trailed off. His hands slowly reached to his master's face. Not knowing what he was trying to do, Mimi pulled the comforter up to hide her body. However, that was not where X0639 was aiming. His hands touched the cold tinted surface of Mimi's frames of her glasses. He slowly removed them carefully avoiding any harm to her.

"…owe a lot to your father." Once the sides left her face, he made a small smile. "Nushi (2)-sama, you have wonderful eyes."

Mimi blushed from his suddenly addition. Was he being loyal? Or just being a down right kiss ass? Either way, she liked the attention. "Your-your name," Mimi changed the subject rather quickly.

"I want you to name me, Nushi-sama."

"I do not know what to name you. I'm not very good at names."

"Nushi-sama could do anything."

Mimi smiled a bit. All this attention was getting to her head. "What did Izumi-san name you?"

Yamato shook his head. But for a moment, He thought then answered, "Izumi-san…keeps calling me 'Ya-I-I mean…X0639', Nushi-sama."

"Can you please not call me Nushi-sama? My name is Mimi."

"I understand, Mimi-sama."

Mimi giggled. Her eyes closed while her hand covered a part of her face. "No suffix is needed. Just call me 'Mimi'."

"I understand, Mimi." Mimi opened her eyes again, to see X0639 close to her face. Confused by his sudden approach, Mimi did nothing. X0639's face advanced hers. Lightly, his eyes closed.

'_What is he trying to do?_' Mimi questioned. The sudden answer came when his lips gently pressed on hers. Mimi was shocked no doubt. Yet, for an android, his kiss was, well, warm. Getting too wrapped up into the event, Mimi forgot that she was his _master_. If she did not what this, she could have told him to stop. So the question was why didn't she?

X0639 broke the moment for the two of them. He realized his mistake. "I deeply apologize, Mimi-sama." X0639 lowered his head.

Before Mimi could respond, Koushiro entered. "Izumi-san!" Mimi called trying to get her mind off what he had just done. Koushiro's attention focused on her when his name had been called. "What is X0639's name?"

"Whatever you choose it to be." Koushiro shrugged.

"Well then, what was the name you called him before?"

Koushiro lowered his gaze. "Yamato," He replied.

"Yamato…?" Mimi questioned. She looked at X0639 whose face was still flushed from his sort of forced kissed. "Yamato," she repeated with a small smile, "that will be your name…Yamato."

* * *

The room suddenly lit. The bright fluorescent lights blinded them. Suited men realized that they were surrounded. A table with a circular boarder divided themselves and the board. The suited men tried to avoid gazes, but we all know too well it doesn't work.

"So let me get this straight," One started as he leaned forward resting his chin in the folded strength of his fingers, "you successfully managed to kill the scientists but you do not have the prototype with you?"

"Hai," The leader of the suited men nodded.

"How was it possible that you could kill the scientists but not have the lifeless prototype with you?" Another asked.

"Was it already activated?"

"I-I do not know. My men! They—"

"You should be ashamed of yourself." One stood. From what the leader could decipher, this was probably the primary boss. "You should not blame your men for your failure." With one press of the button, the area around the leader fell. Once the leader was no longer seen, the ground closed up again.

The other suited men opened their opens wide. Four words came into mind: what the friggin' hell?

The boss sat back down and swiveled on his chair. "Let that be a lesson to you all. I tell you again, find our android. All those who are connected to the android…you may choose what you want to do with them." The group nodded before they were dismissed.

* * *

Mimi's eyes fluttered open. Morning: that was the time now. She stretched profoundly and ended it with a large sigh. She wanted to keep a few minutes to herself by going back to sleep. Her nose had a different idea though. She opened her eyes quickly. The smell…the air… it smelled…strangely…good? Mimi was no great cook but why does the apartment smell so good?

She got up and walked towards the door. Opening the door made a small creek. Confused as to what is happening, she walked cautiously down the small corridor. On her left was the kitchen. It was obvious someone was moving about in the kitchen. Though she could not entirely see who was there due to the counter that blocked half of the kitchen and the small pillar as its edge, she had an idea who. Mimi walked closer.

The android, Yamato, previously known as X0639, was cooking. Mimi moved her head on the side. '_He looks kinda cute with that apron on…_' Mimi smiled. Wooaahh. She shook her head violently. No thoughts like that. Nada. Nada. Still, she couldn't help but observe his technique. Wait, what is going on?

Yamato noticed his master's presence. He turned to her and smiled, "Ohayou, Mimi-sama!" He chirped, "Please, sit." His spatula guided her to sit on a stool in front of the counter. She did what he asked without taking her eyes of him. As he flipped the rice on one pan, he eyed the skillet on his right. Was that an omelet? Yamato turned the flame off. He took a plate he had already out. With the round end of his spoon, he scooped up the rice and placed it on the plate making a dome of rice. With a folded omelet on the opposite side, he smiled to himself. He turned who Mimi who had a blank expression on her face.

"What would you like to drink?" Yamato asked placing the dish in front of her.

Dumbfounded, Mimi just replied in nonsense. Yamato smiled. He reasoned maybe his master is very impressed by his actions. Mimi looked down on her plate. The dish looked…edible. She smiled to herself. Maybe having him around isn't that bad. "I'll get you orange juice, Mimi-sama."

Subconsciously, Mimi looked at Yamato. Once again, her famous gaping mouth came into place. He was wearing an apron alright. Only an apron…

'_I really have to find him some clothes_.' Mimi sighed. Then memories suddenly flooded from last night.

'_I owe a lot to your father. Nushi-sama, you have wonderful eyes._'

Then the little thing that happened.

Ooohhh…Mimi groaned in her head. He said that he owed a lot to her father. So it's only natural that he felt like would want to repay him through her. Yeah, that's it. But…was the kiss really called for? Strangely enough, Mimi liked his sweet little kiss. '_**Damn!**' _She cursed. '_I need to let these things go._'

"Mimi-sama?" Yamato broke her train of thought.

Mimi snapped out of her trance. Wait, 'sama'? Didn't we already go through this? "Can you please just call me Mimi?"

"Gomen nasai, Mimi-sama."

Sigh. Old habits die hard.

"Do you like the breakfast, Mimi-sama?"

Mimi looked at the man. It was his eyes again. It's like the situation where you cannot scold a little kid. He was just too cute. Mimi said her prayer before taking a bite of her breakfast. "Un," Mimi nodded. "It's really good. Arigatou."

Yamato sighed. "Yokata…(3)"

"Oh, Yamato, why don't you eat with me? It is kind of awkward if you just watch me eat."

"Am I allowed to eat?" Yamato questioned.

"Of course you are." Mimi smiled. She prepped her chopsticks to feed the boy. He did not open his mouth. "What's wrong?"

"I do now understand how you _feel_ that you want to eat." Mimi looked at him in a peculiar expression. Just what did he mean by that.

A knocking sound came from the door. Mimi yelped. Who usually comes at this hour? Oh no… Mimi gasped. Usually some of her friends come before her morning classes started. Damn! Damn, damn, damn. Before Mimi got up to answer the door, Yamato beat her to it. "Yamato! Mat—"

The door opened. The time it took for the action to occur was torture, a 15 minute torture for her. Many situations came into her mind. One: Yamato would probably confess the whole situation and will only emphasize that fact that he is the servant and that she was the master. Two: Yamato unknowingly flashes whoever is at the door because he still doesn't realize that he is still in his birthday suit. Or possibly Three: the combination of one and two. Whatever way it plays out, it didn't look good on her part.

When the door was fully open, Yamato stared blankly at their new guest. Mimi took the liberty of getting up of her behind and approaching the door. "I'm sorry if he…"

Mimi's eyes rested on Koushiro who had a duffle bag on his shoulders. She made a huge sigh of relief. "It's just you…" Mimi moved out of the way signaling for Koushiro to come in.

"It's nice to see you too." Koushiro replied sarcastically. His vision then moved to Yamato dressed in an apron. "You got him doing chores. Already?! You do not waste any time."

"For your information," Mimi motioned back to her stool, "he voluntarily made me breakfast." Yamato moved to her living room.

Koushiro raised a brow and dropped his duffle bag on the ground. "Yamato, you made her breakfast? You know how to make breakfast?"

Yamato looked at Koushiro with a hint of confusion. "I watched the television."

"And copied it?" Koushiro questioned.

Mimi looked at the two. So why is Koushiro worrying about Yamato making breakfast? This seemed like a moment Mimi wanted to pass. She slipped out of the kitchen and went to her room. If there was going to be scientific things to be discussed, she did not want to be part of it.

"Yamato, you are able to copy what they did on TV?" Koushiro asked as his hands opened the duffle bag he brought.

Yamato sat on the ground. He folded his legs and allowed his palms to rest on the area behind him causing his body to lean on them. "I suppose I did." Yamato shrugged as his eyes tried to follow what was going on.

Koushiro took the familiar contents of the duffle bag and handed them to Yamato. Yamato looked at his hands. '_Clothes_', he registered. Koushiro crouched at Yamato's level. "I don't mean to sound rude, but you were not programmed-I mean…trained to do that."

"It was strange…" Yamato commented. "I don't know how to explain it but… I sensed that I had to learn."

"Why would you say that?"

Yamato laid quiet. His memory of what happened earlier that morning made him blush slightly.

_It was already seven. Mimi-sama needs to wake up. From looking at the pined up papers, Yamato found it safe to conclude that she was still studying. She had school to go to. Koushiro had left not too long ago. He did mention that he was coming back. Before he left, Yamato remembered that Koushiro told him that he has to keep his master safe now. Her life was now on his hands._

_Yamato looked at his sleeping master. Rest was last on his mind at the moment. Keeping her safe was a priority. Being by her side was another priority. His happiness is last. He walked up to her bed and sat on the edge._

_Her hair was in the way. Yamato brushes his hands on her forehead to move those stupid strands. The morning glow was no help on enhancing her beauty. _

_Touch… that's what he did…why was it so strange? '_Damn,_' Yamato cursed. The touch wanted more. His fingers touched her cheek. She was warm. He was cold. She was flesh. He was metal. '_What the fuck is going on?_' His mind raced. '_It is not normal for androids to develop feelings for their masters. Right? Right?!_' _

_The only time when he felt the same was when his lips touched hers. If only he could do that again, kiss her again, maybe his feelings would be sorted out. _

_He leaned in closer like how he did last time. He wanted to be gentle. His kiss landed on her cheek. He moved back to feel what he had felt before. Before he could decipher for himself, Mimi spoke. "Yamato, can you please close the window? It's cold."_

_Yamato looked solemnly at her. _

'Need to change the subject, need to change the subject…_'_

_He knew that humans usually eat breakfast in the morning. He decided to make one for his master. The question of day came. How do you make breakfast?_

"Well…?" Koushiro broke Yamato's flashback.

Yamato was ashamed what he was doing in Mimi's room. He was an android, yes, but he knew what his limitations were. "Nothing…" Yamato mumbled earning a raised brow from Koushiro's part. "Izumi-san…" Yamato started, "can you teach me about…feeling?"

"Feeling?" Koushiro repeated. Yamato nodded.

Mimi came into the living room with her shoulder bag and dressed moderately. "What are you still doing here?" Mimi asked looking at Koushiro. He seemed to be teaching Yamato from his textbooks.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm teaching him."

"Don't you have places to go? Classes to attend?"

"At the moment no," Koushiro smirked. "I don't attend classes; I teach them."

"Listen, genius, I have to go and I don't appreciate it when people are at my apartment while I'm not around."

"Well, what do you suggest him to do?"

"I don't know."

"He has to learn something. If he stays _here_ all day, laying around, he's going to be obsolete."

"Obsolete? I'm the only one in the entire country—no—the entire world that has him. He's never going to be obsolete. He has to get out sometime."

"I stayed inside for a majority of my life. And I turned out okay."

"Okay? Okay?! I bet most of that time you spend inside was hanging around a computer, doing math problems for fun, or maybe even looking up internet pornography!"

Koushiro stayed silent with a little tint on his cheeks.

Mimi smirked. So much for being a genius… "I'll make copies of my key before I come back. This way, you and Yamato will be able to get out of here and come back in case of emergency." Mimi stated while looking for her own keys. "Here they are!" She exclaimed. She took her time to go to the shoe rack. She grabbed her pair of sneakers and took the liberty of replacing them with her house slippers. "Behave you two." Mimi said before opening the door.

When the wooden door opened, there was a surprise on the other side, "**Ohayou!**"

Mimi's eyes widened. "Ta-Taichi?"

"You were late, so I came up here to get you."

Yamato's sudden curiosity took advantage of him. He turned to see who their new guest was. Before the situation could become more complicated, Koushiro grabbed Yamato to hide.

"So who were you talking to?" Taichi asked with small smile on his lips while his eyes tried to pry as to see what or who was inside.

"N-No one!" Mimi pushed Taichi back outside. "Absolutely no one."

"Well, you must have someone in there." Taichi laughed remembering the phrase, '_behave you two_.'

"O-OH! That…!" Mimi scratched her head. "Well…I was referring to…to my… ototo (4)?"

Taichi's eyes squinted. "Ototo?"

"Ha-hai! Ototo…" Mimi tried to play with the concept. "Ne! Kou…Kou-chan…?" Mimi called for Koushiro. With her heart thumping loudly, she hoped that the genius would catch what was on.

"Ha-hai!" Koushiro jumped up from the couch. "Itterasshai, nee-chan (5)!" He tried to make it as exciting as he need to convince the guest that he was indeed her borther.

"Ittekimasu! (6)" Mimi waved wildly. She sighed wildly before closing the door with a sudden slam.

"But you said two—" Taichi tried to reason.

"We'll be late, Taichi." Mimi dragged her friend by the collar.

* * *

Yamato looked at the closed door. Like a lonely puppy, Yamato seemed upset that his master left for the day. Koushiro noticed his. He looked at Yamato's side, "Yamato, daijoubu (7)?"

"Izumi-san…?" Yamato started without looking at his co-creator. "Who was that man?"

Koushiro stared at Yamato as he flipped through the pages of his notebook and his text. "To be honest, I do not know. Like you, I just met her last night."

"You don't think…he's…" Yamato's voice trailed.

Koushiro raised his brow at the android. "Maybe you should go get changed, Yamato. You've been naked long enough."

Yamato shook the idea off. He proceeded to where the bathroom was located. As he put on the jeans and t-shirt, he couldn't help but think what relationhip that man and his master had. After all, she was _his_ responsibility.

* * *

(1) _One Greek Myth about a woman's curiosity. Thanks to her curiosity it introduced the world to sicknesses, plagues, etc._  
(2) _From my research it meant: owner; master; lover; god. It was as close as I can get._  
(3) _Thank Goodness._  
(4) _Younger brother_  
(5) _Have a good day, big sister!_  
(6) _I'm off_  
(7) _Are you okay?_

_I know that the prologue was somewhat vague. So I rushed up to send the first chapter. I also know Yamato's character seems OOC (out of character). However, remember, most of his memories were suppressed. As time goes on, they reveal all. I hope you all like this fic thus far. (smiles) I look forward to read reviews. (hint-hint) _


	3. Chapter 2: Two Figures

* * *

Chapter 2:_ Two Figures  
_

* * *

The elevator made a loud ding as the doors opened. Mimi walked quickly out of the elevator as fast as her feet could go. Unfortunately, despite being athletic, Taichi had some difficulty trying to catch up with her.

Taichi called her name a number of times. Judging by the speed she was going, he couldn't help but smile. She was just too cute when she's stressed. "Mimi! Mimi!" He kept calling her. Once she left the lobby and continued to race down the street corner, Taichi began to put his athletic skills to the test. He ran after her. Evidently he caught up to her and tagged her on the shoulder. Mimi turned sharply with her eyes fixated on the person pulling her body to a different angle.

"You've…gotten…faster." Taichi said in between puffs and huffs of air with a small chuckle.

Mimi looked apologetically at her friend and bowed slightly, "Gomen ne. I have a lot of things on my mind." She turned during the last part of her sentence to continue walking. Taichi sighed. She left him again.

"Stressed?" He called out running after her then matching his walking speed to hers.

"Un…a little bit." Mimi nodded silently keeping the two boys that invaded her apartment last night in the back of her mind.

"Is it about that boy, Ototou?" He asked trying to understand her situation.

"Ototou?" Mimi stopped looking at Taichi with a raised brow.

"Un. Ototou…?" He paused. After a brief moment in time, he gave her a confused look then crossed his arms, "the boy in your apartment. Your otouto?"

After a few blank moments, Mimi blinked her eyes after it registered in her brain what he was talking about. "Ha-hai. Kou…chan. My otouto…" her voice traveled away from the subject.

"You never told me that you had a brother." He smiled to signal her to continue to walk.

"That's because he's not." Taichi looked at her abruptly signaling Mimi to take it back. "Oh oh! I-I-I mean…he's not…really be-be-because…it was …an… ahh…affair…?" she nodded her head trying to make believe that words were true. "My father, he…umm… had an affair before he got married—to my mother." She paused again. Making up details in the top of her head seemed a lot harder than what she thought it was. "Kou-chan and his mother live…really far from here. My mom insisted on not letting him—them!—into our lives. Hahaha, although, my father doesn't have the…ummm… heart to tell Kou-chan that he's not my _full _brother. So I think its best not to talk about it in front of him." She mentally kicked herself for thinking up the bullshit.

Surprisingly enough, Taichi was buying it.

"Oh, that's nice of your dad." He grinned digging his hands into his pockets. "What was Kou-chan doing in your apartment then?"

"I wonder myself the same thing." Taichi lifted his brow. Mimi continued to make a nervous laugh. "I mean…yeah…he—um—wanted to visit me because…he's thinking of moving somewhere around here."

"Sound like fun."

"Loads of fun," Mimi said in more of a sarcastic tone through gritted teeth as the duo stepped into the university campus.

Taichi shifted his body to face Mimi while he walked backwards. Apparently, he was not done with his interrogation. "So, how old is he?"

"You're just nosey, Taichi." She laughed.

"Me? Nosey? It's called being a good neighbor." He placed a hand on top of his heart and pretended to be a kind gentleman (not that he isn't).

"Good neighbor my ass." Mimi made a playful hit on his upper bicep causing Taichi stop his tracks as Mimi skipped forward giggling.

"Itai itai (1)." He came to the aide of the small sting on his arm. He turned to the bully and smirked. "That's it. Next time your home is invaded by foreign aliens and they try to suck your brains or take you away, I'm not saving you."

Mimi's jaw dropped in a playful way and hit him again in a higher region than last time. "Oh please, you'd run away screaming before anything happens."

The two laughed while they continued their conversation. With Mimi's giggles and Taichi's loud laughs, the students couldn't help but take notice on the two. On Taichi's behalf, they always took notice on his athletic skills and his looks.

"_There he is! That's Yagami-san! He is responsible for this year's soccer championship. I hear that he's so good that Japan is planning on recruiting him to play on our national team in the next World Cup. And he's really cute to begin with."_

"_I know! Who would not fall for his chocolate hair?"_

On Mimi's behalf, they always note on her beauty and moral actions.

"_It's Tachikawa-san! She really is the ideal woman. She's beautiful and a very good heart."_

"_I concur. Whenever there is an event or a function, she is always first to volunteer. I really admire that she always have time to help others. It's such a beautiful thing."_

However, they mostly dote on the fact the two are always together.

"_I'm really jealous that Yagami-san isn't my boyfriend. Yet, I'm not all too mad when I know he is with someone as nice as Tachikawa-san."_

"_Me too. But, they aren't dating each other."_

"_Hontouni _(2)_? But…they…?"_

"_From what I heard, Mimi used to have a crush on Yagami-san, but she was afraid to ask him out. But I, personally, think they want to hook up with each other."_

Taichi waved to Mimi before parting ways with her. She gazed at his retreating figure for a few moments before calling him.

"Taichi!!" Mimi hollered with her hands cupped to amplify her voice. "Walk me home later, okay?!"

Taichi stopped in his tracks to hear Mimi's last phrase. He turned to look at her. She repeated her question with a louder voice. He smirked at her question and responded, "Only if you watch my practice."

Mimi nodded, "Un, wakateru (3)!"

Taichi smiled and nodded before tapping the duffle bag at his side and running into the soccer field. Mimi nodded again to assure herself with a warm smile on her face. She proceeded to walk into one of the buildings on campus with a skip in her steps.

"_Well… whatever they decide to do," _one said to the other, _"no one can get in the way of their relationship now."_

* * *

Koushiro continued to type ferociously on his laptop, researching this Loden Corporation. Much to his dismay, the only results he got were charity donations and good economic standings.

"Dammit," Koushiro cursed biting his bottom lip in frustration. "Why the hell would a good moral standing company want to have a killing robot in their hands?" He released his lip to reach for the tea. As the hot liquid slid down his throat, soft sock-covered feet made its way to the living room.

"Izumi-san," Yamato called.

Koushiro looked up to where the voice came from. Expecting to see Yamato, he was surprised that the cyborg was hiding in the hallway. "You're okay, Yamato?" Koushiro took another sip.

"The sweater you gave me feels very uncomfortable."

The man has a second chance to live his life and he's complaining that the clothes he has on are too small? Talk about ungrateful…

"I'm sure it's fine," Koushiro commented placing the cup back down onto the table before leaning on the couch he sat on. "Come out of the corridor."

Yamato's feet shuffled like a little kid ashamed. There he stood in front of Koushiro with arms hanging slightly off his sides. "I feel somewhat ridiculous," was his only comment.

Keisuke-sensei did say that Yamato's personally would eventually come back. Fortunately for Koushiro, Yamato's talk-back senses are back.

Koushiro sighed seeing Yamato's disappointed look. "Well…" he started taking a quick look at his friend, "it doesn't look _that_ bad."

What was he saying? The shirt is almost three times smaller than Yamato's size. The overall scene reminded him of a twenty-year old man trying to put on the clothes he wore when he was ten (not that Koushiro had seen one). Thankfully enough, the baggiest cargo shorts Koushiro owned look fine on Yamato. Koushiro already knew about the male anatomy. He didn't really want to be reminded of what it looked like on someone else.

Koushiro took hold of a hoodie that he had taken from the car earlier that morning and tossed it over to Yamato. "Put this on," he said in more of a commanding tone, "we need to get you some clothes." He turned his laptop off before reaching for the spare house keys that Mimi had previously given him.

"I don't think you would be able to fit in anymore of my clothes." He sighed as he led Yamato out the apartment. "And I doubt you want to wear Tachikawa-san's."

* * *

Static. _Crrriiissshhhhttt._

"_What's the status of the cyborg and the scientist now?"_

"Negative."

The man took a drag then exhaled the smoke that formed from his mouth and allowed the nicotine take part of his body. He moved the hand possessing the cigarette in between his index and middle out the window and gently flicked it with his thumb as the ash started to tumble down onto the concrete. Looking over to the left, the red head and the blonde came onto reflection to his sunglasses. The two were walking onto the streets of Odaiba, heading towards the opposite direction of the car.

"Correction: we have the target in sight." He commented with his raspy voice into the ear piece. "Our _agent_ will be returning shortly." He moved the butt of the cigarette to his lips taking another drag.

"_You better not screw up this time. I want my cyborg before any of its features are activated." _Click.

He groaned to himself knowing what had happened the night before. Removing the cigarette with the pads of his thumb, index and middle finger, he pulled it out of his lips and threw it out of the window before setting his car into gear.

Leaving the parking space, he crushed the unfinished cigarette with the car's tire and drove to make a k-turn, following the two.

Some say that it was a waste of a cigarette. For him, he wouldn't give a shit. With the amount of money his boss was paying, not only would he be able to pay another pack in a heart beat, but he would be able to by the manufacturing company in cold cash.

* * *

Green grassy field, warm soon-to-be weekend afternoon, sweaty shirtless athletes, it was obvious Mimi was having a too good of an afternoon.

Watching the coach scream threats to the team was fun for some strange sadistic reason. Maybe it was because it was Taichi that kept tripping every time. She couldn't help but laugh when Taichi tripped on the "ladder" exercise (4). Every time he did, the rest of his teammates would scold at him. Apparently, if he had screwed up the system, they would all have to start over again.

Mimi's small bursts of giggles were interrupted by a young feminine voice that leaked a mature tone, "I admit, watching him screw up is probably the most amusing sight I've ever seen."

Mimi turned towards the brunette high school senior and flashed a bright smile. "Hey, Hikari-chan," Mimi greeted as she patted the area on steel bench next to her, indicating the invitation to sit. "How are you doing in school? Are you going to attend this university when the time comes?"

"Me? Here?" Hikari asked with her brow raised. "And have Nii-chan follow me everywhere and make death threats to every boy I talk to?"

"He means well…" Mimi shrugged.

"**What the hell are you doing, Yagami?!**"

The two female heads turned back towards the soccer field. The coach was ranting again and it was obvious. The old man raised his hands, releasing the clipboard and a set of loose papers. His hands started grasping his head as his voice gradually got louder and louder. Everyone knew who was going to take the punishment.

"Your brother's gonna get it," was all Mimi could say through her fit of giggles. "He's been getting into a lot of trouble lately."

Hikari eyed Mimi with that look that said she was insisted on something. "You've been really observant about Nii-chan lately."

Mimi turned to Hikari with a raised brow. "Please don't try this again, Hikari." She turned her gaze from her friend and tried to concentrate on the commotion the coach was making.

"Ahh, com'on!!" Hikari whined, purposely bumping her knees onto Mimi's. "What's wrong with dating my brother?"

"What's wrong?" Mimi asked in a chuckling tone forcing her to face the interrogator. "Is there a specific reason as to why you're trying to bring Taichi and me together in a romantic way?"

"Aww, com'on, Mi-chan," she whined once more. "You know as well as I do that he doesn't have a lot of female friends! He-he's still a dork despite his popularity."

"That still doesn't give me a good reason to hook up with your brother."

"—If Nii-chan was to have a girlfriend, I would prefer she'd be you." Hikari pouted, "I would be honored if you'd be my brother's girlfriend."

"Hikari-chan," Mimi sighed. "Dating him would probably change the whole chemistry we have together. I'm one of his best friends." She finished looking down on her feet.

"That doesn't mean you **only** have to be his best friend." Hikari nudged. "Besides, you don't have romantic feelings for someone else, do you?"

Mimi continued to stare at her feet without another word being said.

* * *

The sales woman placed the shopping bag on the ledge with her hands gently. Once they retreated to her sides, she bowed her head with respect and said, "Arigatou gozaimasu. Mata kita ne. (5)"

Koushiro received the bags with his hands. He bowed rather quickly to respond, "Un, arigatou." He turned quickly with Yamato, newly clothed, not too far behind.

Once the automatic doors slid closed, Yamato caught up to Koushiro and said without making any eye contact. "May I ask you a question, Izumi-san?"

Koushiro kept walking. He made a small nod, signaling approval to continue.

"Why is it I can remember only one event of my life?"

Koushiro shrugged slightly. "Maybe it's something very important to you," he said in a tone that said I-hope-that-answered-your-question.

"Dakedo (6)…" Yamato started but trailed off, almost like he was trying to find the right words to say. "It seems …" pause, "like a memory that someone would rather suppress…than relive. It's just...unpleasant."

Koushiro had wanted to ask what it was. But in cases like this, it would be better if he didn't.

_There were a lot of them—dark clothed men. They were padding and helmets, guns and inferred goggles. Almost like experienced military men, they surrounded the enclosed area without a word. Simple hand gestures were surprisingly enough to communicate with these men. Yamato would raise his right hand, leaving only his left with the gun. The fingers were curled in such a way that he made a V-sign but with his index and middle finger together. _

_He motioned the fingers like a pointer, telling where the cadets to move._

_As the cadets moved, one in particular was beside him. He was young with a fresh face. This kid was obviously new. His body was clearly ready for this type of work, but his innocent face said otherwise. _

_Yamato looked at the kid. When Yamato's and the kid's eyes met, Yamato couldn't help but smirk. He said through his head piece with that smirk, "You're not going to be any different than any other person here, got that? I don't want to give you any special attention, otouto. I need you alive, so that the old man and okaa-san won't hunt me down."_

_The kid glared. "First of all, I can take care of myself," he replied through his ear piece._

_Yamato signaled. The kid moved._

"_Second, don't call me 'otouto'. We're on a mission now, taichou _(7)._ Call me Takaishi."_

_Yamato shook his head. _Damn he's still a kid. _"Osu_(8)_!" They continued to encircle the building. _

_Five cadets, including himself, are in front of the building's door. They look at one of the comrades, waiting for the signal._

"_Clear!" he exclaims as he receives word from other officers through his ear piece._

_Yamato nods. He clicks his gun before turning towards the door. "Cover me." With that said, he lifts his leg, comprised with a heavy boot, and a strapped-on back-up knife, he kicks the door implying on breaking into the building._

"Yamato?" Koushiro accidentally interrupted Yamato's flashback. Yamato blinked several times before widening his eyes to Koushiro. As a good friend, Koushiro had to wonder, "Daijoubu?"

"Izumi-san!!" Yamato exclaimed, almost shocking Koushiro, but paused again. "I want to learn about Yamato—I mean—_my_ past. I want to remember…" He trails off, almost like he wanted a dramatic finish, "I-I want to remember it all…!"

Koushiro stared at his friend. "I've only met you in my first year in college." He nodded. "But I'll try to help you as much as I can."

* * *

The whistle blew. The sun emitted a glow, a warm orange glow. Practice was over…and Taichi wanted everyone to know it.

He jumped and hollered. It was a mystery as to why a man, dead-like during soccer practice, could be so hyped about practice being over.

In general, Yagami Taichi was a mystery.

"Hey, Mimi, imotou." When he had said imotou, he decided to place his hand on Hikari's scalp and riffle up her hair.

Hikari groaned in annoyance. "Yamete, Nii-chan! (9)" Once Taichi removed his hand. Hikari fixed her hair and arranged it in it's original position. "You just finished your soccer practice. You're practically dirty. And you stink, literally." Naturally , she meant by her brother's athletic performance during practice. Yet, leave it to Taichi to take it towards another direction.

He raised his arm and took a small whiff of the area under his arm. He shrugged slightly. "I don't smell anything. Deodorant is working fine to me."

Hikari and Mimi couldn't help but laugh at Taichi's absentmindedness. Taichi lifted his duffle bag and accompanied the girls towards the gate of the university.

"Oh, Nii-chan!" Hikari exclaimed while making a small hand-clapping gesture to her big brother. "My bunkasai (11) is coming up. You have to stop by and see what my homeroom class is doing! It's really cool—!"

"Nah-ah! No way!" Taichi shook his head violently as his hands dug deeper into his pocket. "I ain't gonna go!"

"But why?" Hikari whined. "You're gonna have fun. I promise!"

"No, I _know _I'm going to be your class's main attraction. I fell for it last time, and I'm not going to fall for it again!"

"It-It was…all…mmm…." Hikari tried to think of something, "by chance! I swear! We're not going to use you…much." Hikari added the last word in a quiet voice.

"Ah-ha!" Taichi exclaimed removing one hand from his pocket and pointing his index finger directly onto Hikari's face. "Aaaaaddmit it! You were going to use someone—namely me—to help your class gain popularity!"

"But you're my brother, right?!" Hikari shouted back. "This is the sibling bond we share! It's your obligation to help your imotou! I-MO-TOU!!" She emphasized by saying each syllable with a hefty tap on the heart.

"Well I don't go around abusing that bond—!"

"**Hold it!**" Mimi exclaimed putting a palm in front of each Yagami's face. "You might have forgotten that I am still present." She paused in order to let them catch a breath. "Alright, Hikari-chan, if you like I'll help you this way Taichi wouldn't need to help you out."

Hikari felt teary eyed. "Arigatou, Mi-chan!! I wish I had you as an older sister than my sissy brother. If he was a gentleman, he would have volunteered to help."

"Oh please…" Taichi scoffed.

"You'll make our class more popular because we would have such a pretty girl with us!"

"With the attention focus on Mimi, people won't see your hideous face." Taichi said in a low voice.

"I heard that, jackass."

Mimi chuckled. Never in her life had she focused on the sibling's natural speech. Surprisingly enough, this was considered normal. With her good friends walking home together, conversations naturally flowing, it was almost priceless. Her chuckles faded to a stop when she realized something in her life that scared her.

The sudden entrance of Yamato and Koushiro was going to take a dramatic change for her. The life she is enjoying now was going to change.

'_Now that I think about it,_' Mimi thought to herself, '_I wonder what those two are up to._'

* * *

Koushiro walked along side Yamato on their way home. Yamato became distracted at the lovely view before him. He was walking down a street next to a park. He admired the simple city creatures flying or scarring around. He eyed everything. Every rock, every bird, and every car they had passed; Yamato took note of it all. He did not notice though how close Koushiro as observing him.

"Yamato," Koushiro called earning the cyborg's attention. "are you using your learning feature?"

Yamato nodded, "It's strange. The things I don't know or understand, I am able to find information on it on the wireless internet I can pick up."

Koushiro nodded also, showing the unit he comprehended. He looked offside, trying to think of another way to strike up a conversation. "Yamato, I've been meaning to ask you. What do you feel towards Tachikawa-san? Your master, I mean."

Yamato looked at Koushiro then moved his eyes towards the cement on the ground. "I'm not sure. Once in a while, I feel a small whirling sensation in the pit of my stomach. It almost feels like I must do anything for her."

Koushiro stared at Yamato. "Is it because you are the cyborg that is now programmed to protect her?"

"I do not know to be honest." He looked up. "I've searched for such information on the internet. There were some results, but none of them seemed reliable or sure."

Koushiro thought for a minute. Being thee genius that he is, Koushiro had an idea what was going on. Yet, the behavior Yamato has emitted towards Mimi could be said as somewhat normal. Koushiro did not know whether the feeling was because he was actually falling for her or was it because he had to be with her. Either way, Koushiro needed to find out. "Yamato—"

A black car rolled by. Koushiro stopped abruptly when the car suddenly swerved and drifted to block their way. Dust cleared. Koushiro tried to eye the driver, but couldn't. The tinted windows give Koushiro an idea as to who it was.

Both the driver and passenger doors opened. Two black suited men came out of the vehicle. One fixed his black tie while the other allowed his tie to hang loosely around his neck.

Koushiro stepped back slightly when he realized who these men were from. "Shit."

"Izumi-san," Yamato asked not taking the time to look at his companion, "who—"

"They are the ones that want you, Yamato." Koushiro quickly responded, knowing what the cyborg was going to ask. "And it looks like they are not taking 'no' as an answer."

"This is the cyborg the boss wants, ne, Sho-san?" One of the suited men asked.

"I guess, Hiro-san," The one named Sho responded, massaging his neck. "Com'on, cyborg. We haven't got all day."

Yamato felt something in him boil. His fingers coiled together to make a fist which made his knuckles turn white.

Sho laughed seeing the blonde taking silent action. "You're not gonna come with us, ne, cyborg-san?" Sho flick his jacket to the side to quickly take out a gun. With one smooth flick the gun was already to fire.

Yamato narrowed his eyes and shortened his breath. He knew inside that protecting Mimi was his top priority. But at the moment, Mimi was not there. Koushiro was. Yamato reasoned, '_If anything were to happen to Izumi-san, Mimi-sama would not be happy._'

Yamato felt something tick in his nerves in the brain area. He followed his body into channeling to one thought.

"_Izumi-san, if can hear tighten your grip."_

Koushiro's eyes moved slightly. How could…? Koushiro thought she was hearing things. He glanced at the suited men then to Yamato. Either of them seemed to move.

"_Izumi-san, please hear me!"_

Koushiro looked at Yamato and saw him with tightened hands. Koushiro understood what was going on. He tightened his grip, signaling Yamato.

"_When you see my hand raised, duck."_

Koushiro unknowingly nodded in response.

"What are you two doing?!" Hiro cried as Sho automatically cocked his gun to Koushiro. Yamato knew what to do before anything got out of hand. He immediately raised his right arm, which Koushiro took note of.

"What are you doing, cyborg?" Sho cried getting nervous.

Yamato kept his arm perfectly perpendicular to his body. He made one step forward causing his elevated arm a small extension from his body. His fingertips created small orbs of a glowing yellow light. The light projected to one single point where it emitting a larger orb. Yamato released a grunt which also released the beam.

* * *

Mimi turned to her friends and smiled with her hands intertwined behind her back. "Now it's the time of the day I must part from you two. Mata ne!" Mimi waved as she made her way down a street.

Hikari looked at her brother as he looked back at her.

"What?" Taichi asked seeing Hikari's furrowed brows.

"This is how you'll end up lonely." Hikari grunted through clenched teeth.

"What are you talking abou—ah!!" Taichi stopped when Hikari jabbed him in the ribs. "Geez, what was that for?" He asked rubbing his ribs hoping to soothe the aching pain.

"Go…" Hikari whispered as she motioned her brother to move. Taichi, in response, looked at his sister with a raised brow giving that what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about face. "Go with Mimi." She said a little louder through clenched teeth.

Taichi forced a cough out of his lungs to bring his body up. He swallowed slowly as he walked caught up with Mimi. Hikari, curious as she is, decided to follow them.

"Mimi!" Taichi called as Mimi turned around. "Ho-how about I walk you home?"

Mimi was about to accept till two boys occupied her mind. "You don't have to. My…my otouto needs… me to get something…from the groceries. Yeah, from the groceries…"

"Groceries?" Taichi asked with his hands on his sides. He looked away from Mimi slightly to catch a glance at the spying Hikari.

She made faces at him, death threats really. From what he could tell, Hikari was mad, very mad. She seemed to say something along the lines of "you'll die without a girlfriend." It was that or "you'll die, period." Either way, it wasn't good news for Taichi.

"Taichi?" Mimi spoke bring the attention back to her.

Before Taichi could respond, there was a large thundering noise. Mimi turned around and eyed the sudden explosion of light and debris. Her pupils shrunk slightly, noting the untold disaster might come.

"Yamato…" Mimi unknowingly whispered.

"Eh?" Taichi asked hearing something muttered from Mimi's lips.

"No-nothing!" Mimi exclaimed turning back to Taichi, "I-I have to go before anything happens. Matta ne!" Mimi exclaimed then ran in the direction towards the explosion. '_Izumi-san, Yamato, please be alright._'

* * *

Once the debris cleared, the suited men lowered the guard. With arms down to his side, Hiro looked at the cyborg walking towards him. "How could he tap into such power so quickly? He must have been active for about a day!"

Sho fixed his tie, "There's only one way to find out."

With one quick lash, the suited men began to have a heated hand to hand combat. Koushiro was unsure as to who was winning. One minute, Yamato has one of them by the head lock and the other kicked to the side. The next, both suited min had the advantage of simultaneously attacking him, hoping that Yamato's defense would go down. Either way, the fight was a close draw.

One move almost secured Yamato's victory. Yamato made a round house kick to Sho and sent him flying across the scene. At the same time, Hiro advanced towards Yamato with a stick as his weapon from behind. Yamato, thankfully, knew of this and sent his elbow to Hiro's gut. Hiro coughed out blood as he felt the pressure of Yamato's jab. With a swift move, Yamato used the hand of the opposite arm to tightly clench upwards on Hiro's neck connecting to his jaw and raised it up. Hiro held tight to Yamato's arm as he felt his throat closing. Hiro's grunting sounds got louder and louder as Yamato's grip became tighter and tighter.

"_It's no use, boy."_ Yamato heard Sho say, _"Let my partner go!"_

Yamato's eyes narrowed as his grip became tighter. "Iie," escaped from Yamato's lips.

"Yamato!" Koushiro called, "just do what he says!"

Yamato was about to question his companion when a familiar voice rang. "_Hanashite yo_(11)_!_" Yamato felt his senses soften and his breath become short. There was no way…

"_Don't touch me!"_

Yamato dared to look towards Sho's direction. With a smirk across his face and a playful glint in his eye, Yamato knew that Sho had just found the cyborg's weakness: his master.

Mimi twisted and turned trying to somehow spring loose. Sho struggled to keep her still.

Yamato tried to devise a plan as to how to set his master free. Before he could process anything, Koushiro dared to take the plunge. He head butted Sho with all his might, hoping to at least his former colleague's daughter free. As a result, Sho was able to maneuver his legs so that his heel forcefully made contact with the young genius. Koushiro flown backwards, skidding his body against the pavement as friction.

"_Izumi-san!"_

Koushiro placed on palm down and the other arm to push his body up. Yet due to the force of the impact and result, Koushiro was only able to open one eye and release grunts to emphasize the sudden pain that traveled throughout his body.

Sho swung Mimi around so that her right arm was bent behind her back. With her dominant arm behind her back, there was no way for her to definitely break free. "Rescue her, cyborg." Sho taunted Yamato, taking a whiff of Mimi's hair, "She smells good." He smirked. Sho rolled his nose down to Mimi's neckline. "I wonder how she tastes."

Yamato's eyes flared seeing Mimi's discomfort and tears. Once again, something twitched or tick within his body. It was like the inexpressible feeling that occurred not too long ago but greater, more powerful. It was all that Yamato needed and more.

Yamato tossed Hiro to the side. He felt his skin peel and illuminate as the feeling to protect his master became stronger and stronger. Yamato's slowly became louder and louder as he grunted and shouted as the pressure became stronger and harder to resist.

Mimi and Koushiro noted how the curious and soft eyes that Yamato once had were now processed and dark. They felt the sudden change in pressure that emitted from Yamato's body as parts of the ground began to crack and gravitate upwards. Piece by piece, the gravity-defying bits of ground began to break apart and disintegrate.

"Wha-what's goin-going on?!" Mimi heard Sho grunt as the pressure became too strong to ignore. His body began to feel weak as his hold on Mimi loosened.

Mimi tried to be strong, but it seemed Yamato was the stronger force. Like the others, Mimi couldn't help but fall to the ground.

Mimi felt her head becoming heavier as the once soft spoken cyborg became to a dark killing machine. "_Yamato…_" She whispered as her eyelids became heavy, "_What is happening…to…"_

The pressure was too strong. A strong light emitted from Yamato blinding everything in sight.

As the light cleared and the pressure softened, Koushiro released a moan as he forced himself to sit back up. He rubbed his head to question as to what was exactly going on. Then he suddenly remembered, "Tachikawa-san, Yamato!" He looked around and noted before him, the same place where Mimi, Yamato and the two suited men were, a fire erupted. It burned bright and it burned tall.

'_There's no way anyone could survive that!'_ Koushiro observed looking at the fire. By the way it was burning and the color of the flame; no one could have survived that without being scratched.

Before Koushiro could test out his hypothesis, two figures came out of the flame. His eyes widened as he saw them walking as if nothing had just touched them.

* * *

(1) _An expression for hurt, like ouch._  
(2) _Really?_  
(3)_ I understand/know._  
(4) _Agility ladder exercise_  
(5) _Thank you. Come again._  
(6) _However_  
(7) _Commanding Officer_  
(8) _Yes in masculine way_  
(9) _Stop it, nii-san!_  
(10) _School festival, at least I think it is._  
(11) _Let me go!/ Release your hold on me!_

_Like the plot? Tell your friends/family/whoever! Just get someone to read and review. I need feedback! Please keep reviewing; they are the gas to my writing car. Shameless plug: POLL (on user page)!_


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